Art and Culture

Vienna: Capital of Classical Music

For many people, Vienna is considered the ultimate centre of classical music. A glance at the impressive variety of top music locations in Vienna shows that this assessment is not far off: With around 90 opera houses, concert halls, and theatres, Vienna’s lovers of music and theatre productions have an excessively large number of venues to choose from – for a city of around 2 million inhabitants, this density of opera houses, concert halls, and theatres is unique. Among them are world-famous venues such as the Vienna State Opera, the Burgtheater, the Musikverein, or the Wiener Konzerthaus. With the Raimund Theater, the Ronacher Theater, the opera venue Theater an der Wien, and the Kammeroper, the city of Vienna even operates its own venues – something, that is hardly found anywhere else in the world.

Education strengthens Society

Having as comprehensive an education as possible not only helps individuals but also has a positive impact on the entire city and its residents on the whole. As the home of the largest German-speaking institution of further education for adults – with a total of more than 30 locations – Vienna consciously works to provide people with the educational and developmental opportunities they need to improve their respective life situations. This benefits not only the community but also individual adults of all ages, who want to catch up on their formal education qualifications or pursue further professional training through learning-assistance-projects and extra youth coaching. Since education and a sense of community are not only conveyed through classical learning-assistance-projects and training programs, Vienna has WIENXTRA, an organization dedicated to all children, young people, and young adults in Vienna. At their locations, advice is provided, and people are invited to play, experience things together, or spend their free time together instead of alone. To ensure that all children, young people, and young adults can participate in the events organized by WIENXTRA, these are deliberately made affordable, if not free, because in Vienna, the opportunity to participate in culture, education, and joint activities isn’t seen as a privilege, but as a right instead.

Making Music together in Vienna’s Music Schools 

Aside from high culture, Vienna promotes a particularly low-threshold-access to music. The city operates more than a dozen music schools and a singing school, which allows young people, enthusiastic about music to not only receive a formal musical education, but also to get together to make music and sing. Besides the fun and joy of music, collecting social skills is consciously emphasized.

Donauinselfest: Europe’s largest Music Festival – with free admission

For one weekend each year, the Danube Island becomes the venue for Europe’s largest open-air music festival – with free admission: With up to three million visitors annually, it has been a fixture in Vienna’s cultural calendar for decades.

Whether a wild rock concert or a quiet evening at the movies: In Vienna, both are possible

Those, who think that only lovers of classical music will be happy with Vienna’s rich cultural offering are mistaken: Countless event locations and small stages attract people throughout the year – whether with wild rock concerts, quiet song evenings, cheerful cabaret performances, elaborate ice shows, or blockbusters in one of Vienna’s nearly 30 cinemas. With Stadthalle Wien, Vienna does not only possess Austria’s largest event location, but one of Central Europa’s biggest concert halls as well.

Vienna, a Metropolis of culture

Vienna houses some of the world's most valuable art treasures, from Albrecht Dürer’s “Young Hare,” Bruegel’s masterpiece “The Tower of Babel,” to the Habsburg crown jewels. Over 250 museums and collections, including the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Albertina, the Belvedere, the Imperial Treasury Vienna, the National Library, and many more, make Vienna one of the most important art metropolises and one of the most liveable cities in the world, attracting millions of guests from all around the world every year.

Culture includes, making one own’s City’s history tangible

With more than a million exhibits, ranging from everyday products from long ago to extraordinary art objects, the Wien Museum, as Vienna’s city museum, is one of the largest city museums in the world. In addition to the Wien Museum and its 16 branches, the district museums and dozens of other Viennese museums enrich Vienna’s cultural offerings and make a significant contribution to forming Vienna’s identity.

Vienna, where both art and artists are promoted

Through scholarships and grants, the city of Vienna ensures that Vienna’s vibrant art and cultural scene can develop innovatively. In addition to funding and scholarships, the city enriches Vienna’s cultural scene with the organization or hosting of various public events, festivals, and other participatory offerings that invite the population to get involved because the city’s approach is that culture ought to be for everyone.

Further information on Vienna’s housing policy are found here:

City of Vienna. Environment & Leisure. https://www.wien.gv.at/english/environment-leisure/

City of Vienna. Culture & History. https://www.wien.gv.at/english/culture-history/

WIENXTRA. Tips for kids in Vienna. https://www.wienxtra.at/kinderaktiv/infos-a-z/tips-for-kids-in-vienna-english/

Wien Museum. https://www.wienmuseum.at/en